Conference held in Lichfield to find ways to promote the well being of children and young people in the district. Eighty representatives from children's services came to the Lichfield Garrick to take part in the annual Children and Young People's Conference on Wednesday 29 January.
Lichfield District Youth Forum and Lichfield Locality Children's Trust Board - of which Lichfield District Council is a key partner - invited the lead players in children's services from across the county to the Garrick to stress the importance of youth participation and to celebrate young people's achievements.
In the morning delegates heard presentations on the four priorities the Lichfield Locality Children's Trust Board has identified as the most pertinent for Lichfield District to improve the well being of young people. These include: preventing adverse risk taking behaviour, housing and homelessness, domestic violence, and encouraging participation in positive activities.
Among the presenters were young people from the DITCH project - a peer education project supported by Staffordshire Youth Service.
Delegates also had the opportunity to network and take part in group activities. In the afternoon they were treated to a special rap by Mikey McCheyne, a spot of DJing and MCing by George Douglas, and three songs by the Garrick Youth Choir.
The conference was finished off by a round up of many of the positive activities that are going on for young people across the district - such as Burntwood Init and North Lichfield Initiative's Goodbye to Summer Lantern Parade.
Nina Dawes, Chair of the Lichfield Locality Children's Trust Board, said: "We have a duty to promote the well being of children and young people in our district, and this conference was an opportunity for all our partners to come together to share their experiences and to find out what we will be focusing on in the future. I am delighted it proved so popular. It shows so much dedication to the young people of the district. I would like to thank all of the performers who kept all of the guests entertained. It was a wonderful showcase of our talented young people. I'd also like to thank all the partners who helped all the young people put on such a fantastic day."
The entire event was compered by me, and young people were involved in planning the programme and also helped throughout the day.
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